Nine labourers were killed and five others were injured, two of whom seriously, when a slab of an under-construction building collapsed at Balewadi in Pune on Friday morning.
The incident took place at 11 am when a slab of the 14th floor of the building “Pride Express” fell on 14 workers engaged in the construction work on the 13th floor of the building.
While eight workers were killed on the spot, one labourer succumbed to injuries at a nearby hospital. Another four injured labourers are undergoing treatment at the local government hospital.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, (zone-III), B Teli said that a concrete slab from the 14th floor cement caved in on the the construction labourers when they were working on the 13th floor of the "Pride Express" building, which is located in the vicinity of Hinjewadi IT Park.
“So severe impact of the collapse that some of the workers fell down from the 13th floor to the ground,” an eyewitness said.
Talking to media persons after taking stock of situation at the mishap site, Pune Municipal Commissioner Krunal Kumar said: “We will ascertain if the developers had taken requisite permissions for undertaking the construction. We will steps to ensure against recurrence of this kind of mishaps”.
Pune Mayor Prashant Jagtap, who also visited the mishap site, described the incident as “serious” and said, “The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will investigate the incident to check if safety measures had been taken by the builder to ensure against mishaps. Stern action would be initiated against those found responsible for the incident”.
local residents said that the construction work had been going on at the “Park Express” form the last few years.
The police have booked a case of negligence against the builder and construction contractor. They are investigating if the labourers had been provided with safety harnesses and why no safety net had been erected below to stop any casualties.